What has any poet to trust
more than the feel of the thing?
Theory concerns him only
until he picks up his pen,
and it begins to concern him
again as soon as
he lays it down.

John Ciardi, poet
Recalled on his death, NY Times 2 Apr 86

I love this quote and how it relates to those of us who are maker doers--makers of images and art. Theory gets the artist to to the process of rendering the image and picks up as the pen is returned to it's stand. The artist is no longer theoretical when he acts and renders the reality of the image. It is sad to think that we then need theory to justify or define this product of action and not thought.